


Round and Round

by pennyroyalpoet



Category: Guns N' Roses
Genre: Classic Rock, Drunk Rockstars, Fluff, Other, SUBTLE slaxl, Surprise Party, axl's birthday, duff's birthday, goes from serious to fluffy, how do you tag, no specifc ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22653205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pennyroyalpoet/pseuds/pennyroyalpoet
Summary: another year, and it would always end up the same way. and yeah, maybe Axl was jealous.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 34





	Round and Round

**Author's Note:**

> happy late birthday to axl and duff <33 i originally wanted to post it on either of their bdays, but my writing was vv delayed !! anyways, please enjoy :))

Another year, and it would always end up the same way.

Coincidentally and unfortunately so, Duff's birthday landed a day before Axl's. An inconvenient, one day gap between both. Not that it bothered Axl or anything. Duff, on the other hand, was perfectly content with this, who wouldn't be? He appeared to drop any other concern when the day finally rolled around, a good time being the only thing on his mind.

And yeah, maybe Axl was jealous. 

On Duff's birthday, they drove out to a small city they weren't familiar with. It was rather quiet in the evening, so they decided on heading out to the most packed bar. The building they chose was new, and the dirty rock n' roll that blasted from inside made it even more tempting. The group found themselves being lured in, all of them laughing joyously and surrounding Duff, who had the brightest gleam in his eyes. Axl trailed behind them, offering his own share of forced delight, overshadowed completely by his bandmates.

The night was young.

Upon stepping into the bar, they were greeted with collective cheers of approval. They split ways by then, Duff heading to a completely seperate location in the bar while Axl decided to isolate himself from the others. Lights flashed in every direction, the bright colors becoming too much for Axl to bear. The display of dancing lights became tolerable after awhile, so the frontman decided to order a few drinks at the counter. He downed a glass before chiming in for another. It wasn't enough to do much of an effect, so Axl decided that he wanted to consume as much alcohol as he could, enough to the point he decided would be good.

"D'you guys always play Ratt?" He asked the bartender casually after ordering his fourth drink. The music that blared in the background seemed to be the fifth Ratt song he'd heard that night, and it was driving him insane.

"We play whatever's hot right now, man." The young boy responded, sliding the beverage over to Axl who responded with nothing but a questioning gaze. "But you can request something, if you want."

Axl shrugged it off, not saying anything afterwards. He took his beverage, hastily gulping down the warm liquid. Upon scanning through the filled bar, he noticed some commotion at the farther corner. He tilted his head to the side to take a closer look before he finally noticed his bandmates huddled together, chanting something indecipherable through the deafening beat of the music. Axl felt he'd been rather distant the entire night, so he decided to get up and head towards the crowd that continued to swarm around the group.

Pushing through was not as easy as Axl had hoped it would be. Every inch of space was so damn crowded, and Axl's vision tilted every now and then; not a very ideal combination. As he proceeded to navigate through the crowd, his throbbing headache beating at the same rhythm of the music, he stumbled into a guy, knocking over his drink.

"Hey, what the fuck, dude? Watch where you're fucking going, man." The stranger spat at him, shoving the frontman away.

Axl was already tipsy enough, so the push triggered the final blow which sent him bumping into another person. God, he was desperate to punch someone, but he couldn't make out where he was. Determined, Axl fought the urge of violence, and continued through the noisy crowd. He finally reached a clearing, pushing a few people out of the way before he finally met with the rest of his bandmates. 

Apparently, though, he missed the party.

They had just finished singing out the remaining parts of the birthday song, clapping in unison as Duff blew out the candles to a pile of cake that sat in front of him. Everyone piled through, gathering around the pool table that they were perched at. Axl tried to get through the wave of bodies, but everyone began to cheer again, a flood of lights and noise filling his senses. He managed to stand on his toes, catching a glimpse of his friends having the absolute time of their lives. Cameras flashed as they posed, seeming to forget their frontman ever existed. Fuck, it was hard to watch, but Axl couldn't admit it. Instead of diving into the crowd of people to begin swinging his fists around in a furious rage, he stormed out of the bar in a flurry of quiet anger. He couldn't take it all in at once anyway.

Axl stumbled out of the bar, his mind blitzed and movements sluggish. He ran his hand against the brick walls outside, vision shifting in and out of conciousness as he tried to focus on his breathing. The redhead darted into a dark alleyway near the building, and leaned up against the wall, trying to find some composure through the nonstop pain and rage that ran through his veins. It'll be fine, it'll be fucking fine, he chanted to himself, until his stomach dropped and oh God, it's not gonna be fucking fine.

The uneasiness that began to spread throughout Axl's stomach eventually hit the back of his throat, and he ducked his head down before he threw up. It all went in slow-motion as he continued to spill his guts out, the dizzy sensation that started in his head fizzling into pain. Defeated, Axl slumped against the wall once more before dropping down, sitting in an uncomfortable position. He wanted to leave, needed to drive the fuck out of wherever they were and get far, far away. His head throbbed endlessly from both the strong alcohol and the fact that his bandmates completely ignored his existence. Axl felt insecure going in, and this just took the final cut. His mind was too fucked up and tired to really do much at that point, so he surrendered and passed out.

Slash had been the one to first notice Axl's disappearance. 

They sat around the pool table, talking casually among fans and other people they didn't know. Duff was on his sixth bottle, planning to get absolutely wasted on the day he turned a year older. Steven coaxed him into chugging down some more, laughing drunkenly at how intoxicated Duff was getting. Izzy ate the remaining slices of cake that Duff had previously smashed his face into, trying to keep himself occupied as he didn't want to make any interaction with anyone. Slash had been chatting up a blond chick, words slightly slurred from the alcohol as he complimented her pretty face. It was all fun and games until the guitarist came to the realization that there was one missing from the group. Axl.

He figured Izzy would've known where the singer was, so he leaned over the pool table. Slash watched the other grab another chunk of the sugary cake before he finally asked. "You know where Axl is?" Slash managed to ask over the loud music.

Izzy just stared at him for five seconds before he finally came to the realization of who Slash was talking about. He tilted his head to the side before letting his eyes roam across the bar. "Honestly, I haven't seen him all evening."

This came as a red flag to Slash. He knew his other two bandmates wouldn't give a shit, they were drunk out of their mind and probably forgot that they were in a band, too. He decided to take initiative and stood up, eyes scanning the crowd. His gut told him something was definitely wrong. Slash had noticed it all day. Axl wasn't acting right, his smiles and laughs seemed forced and he even decided to stray away from the rest of the band for half of the day. On Duff's birthday. He couldn't have snuck out with a girl, Slash figured; with that attitude, Slash knew he wasn't planning on doing much that night. 

"Hey, I think I'm gonna look for Axl. He's been gone most of the night." He replied to Izzy after he finished observing the large crowd of people, no redhead in sight.

"If he's not here, he's probably outside. Getting his dick sucked or something." Izzy added, chuckling when Slash shot him an 'are you serious?' type glare.

Slash got up from his perch and began to pace around the bar, having to push through the crowds of drunk strangers. A few people stopped him in his tracks occasionally, either clawing at his leather jacket, desperate for attention, or asking Slash for his autograph endlessly. He managed to work his way through the streaming masses, appearing at the bar counter where he left Axl at. Upon seeing no trace of the redhead there either, he decided to interrogate the bartender, hoping he knew of his whereabouts. 

"Kid, have you seen Axl Rose around here?" He shouted at the bartender, who looked up in slight confusion at first. 

"Oh," he finally responded back, realizing who Slash was talking about, "He was here, grabbing a few drinks. Decided to leave and get through the crowd, but turned around and left the bar altogether. I wasn't paying much attention, but I could tell he seemed pretty pissed 'bout something."

Slash's heart sunk uneasily, quickly darting his head back around as he worriedly looked through the sea of bodies. He muttered a quick thanks before he pushed his way through again, trying to find his way outside of the establishment. What seemed like an eternity was really just ten minutes as Slash finally nudged and shoved his way through. He stumbled outside of the building, the crisp, cold air of the night running against his skin. He called out for the frontman blindly, taking his sunglasses off. After adjusting to the darkness, he finally saw Axl slumped against the cold brick wall of the building, still out like a light. Slash took no hesitation in scrambling next to the singer, trying to shake him awake. God, it was freezing too, and the redhead was wearing nothing but a thin tank top and some tight leather jeans.

"Shit, Axl! Wake up, man." Slash hissed, shaking Axl by his shoulders.

Slash shrugged off his leather jacket, unsure if it would work as warmth for Axl or not. The several pins littered on the front of the jacket fell to the ground with tiny clanks as Slash finally took it off. He slung it around Axl, hoping it would provide some kind of comfort against the cold night. Axl still wasn't making a response, leading Slash to think he really was dead. In a last attempt, Slash held up his shaking hand and slapped Axl. The sudden jerk that came from the frontman proved it worked. What came as more of a relief was when Axl tried to swing back mindlessly, murmuring something with gritted teeth. Upon seeing Slash in front of him, though, he seemed to pounce on him almost instantly. The latter stumbled back as Axl put his weight onto him, embracing him as tight as he could. Slash hugged back, unsure of what to do. He figured Axl was too blitzed out.

"Saul, mfh. Wanna go home. Wanna leave. 'M sick of this place." Axl slurred almost incomprehensibly, pulling at Slash's dark curls.

Slash patted Axl's back in a way he thought was reassuringly, trying to make sense of what spilled out of Axl's mouth. They sat there afterwards, huddled together in silence, the only noise being the faint sound from the bar and the evening chill. Slash wanted to drive Axl home safely, to leave, just like the former requested. To Slash, though, it was odd. The entire evening, he'd been acting strange, not the usual Axl Rose. Slash didn't want to interrupt the moment, but he knew he had to talk to the frontman, try to get some kind of response about the entire "issue" he seemed to have.

"You've been acting a lot different, especially since today, Ax. What's up? You'd usually be getting shitfaced with us." Slash asked Axl carefully, his voice gentle and encouraging.

Getting an honest response out of Axl was a lot easier than expected. Surprisingly, the alcohol had inebriated the singer's senses and overall ability of control. 

"It's Duff's birthday, I know... I know. There's no reason for me to act like such an ass." He pulled away from Slash's embrace and let his back lean against the cold brick wall once more. "I just... always feel so left out. You guys are having the greatest fucking party in the corner of the bar and I'm getting small pity chat from the bartender. Then after Duff's day is over, we're all fuckin' wasted, right?"

Axl stumbled over his words here and there, but managed to maintain a direct response. "Then my birthday rolls around... and you guys are too fuckin' busy and so fuckin' tired to even notice. And I have to treat myself, a solo birthday party, can you believe that shit? Yeah, you'll say, 'happy birthday Ax' and go on with your day, but shit, I don't want another birthday orgy, it's gotten so damn old. I just..." Axl stopped suddenly as he tried to collect his words.

"I just wanna spend it with you guys. Y'know, with people I actually know and love." The redhead let out a heavy sigh afterwards, only realizing then that his rambling was really fucking cheesy.

Slash scanned Axl's distraught expression, gazed over his glossy eyes that held the utmost disappointment. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed accurate. He knew Axl wasn't playing around, the faded glow in his eyes said otherwise. Slash didn't respond, though, and instead leaned back against the wall beside Axl.

"I can tell the others we gotta go." Slash suggested after a brief interval of silence passed between them.

"I'd like that, Saul."

So, Slash drove them back home.

That night's events were still a blur, at least to Axl. Maybe he was thankful they ended up as a blur, an easily disregarded memory. Not much was recollected, and not much was left to linger on anyway. It was time to move on.

A fresh new day began. The morning sun streamed through the windows as it stirred a peaceful Axl from his deep sleep. To him, it was another day. Apparently so, Axl completely forgot about his birthday along with everything from last night. Seemingly, anything associated with those specific events were erased from his memory quicker than it usually would. 

Axl moved sluggishly, almost languidly as he tried to snap out from his sleep. With a yawn, he was up and out of bed, preparing himself for the day ahead of him. A new outfit was sorted out, and Axl trudged to the kitchen shortly after. He had barely took two steps outside, and he had already heard some commotion in the kitchen. Ah, so his bandmates were up and early, surprisingly. The sudden noise finally disappeared again as Axl began to near the kitchen's entrance. Upon stepping on the cold tile floor, Axl's ears were splitted open by a loud shout that rang through. He was pounced on, completely off guard as he lost balance and collapsed. Axl looked up in absolute confusion, blinking a few times before he saw Steven sitting up on top of him.

"Steven, what the fuck man? Get off me." Axl shoved the drummer off, dismissing him.

It didn't do anything in the end. Axl was suddenly pulled into a blindfold with his bandana, cursing as he tried to swing at Steven. He scrambled up from his spot on the floor, attempting to get rid of his bandana which now served as a blindfold. Everytime he tried to yank it off, though, Steven (he assumed) kept pulling it back over his eyes. Axl could hear his stupid, childish giggling as the shenanigans continued, wondering what the hell he did to deserve it. Meanwhile, he also heard some movement from the other side of the kitchen, but was getting all too annoyed with Steven to really pay attention to it. 

"Steven, God, stop!" Axl's voise rose in slight desperation, not wanting to throw fists this early in the morning.

Eventually, the torture stopped, and Steven hastily yanked the bandana from Axl before anything escalated. Axl scoffed and gave Steven a death glare before turning around to see what was set in front of him.

"Happy birthday, Axl."

In front of him stood the rest of his bandmates, standing both proudly and awkwardly as they presented what seemed to be Axl's birthday surprise. The table was set up in the middle of the kitchen, along with a sloppily done banner taped to the front with the words 'Happy Birthday Ax' scribbled in cheap markers. Izzy sat on the table, holding up a piece of paper with the same words. Upon closer observation, Axl saw a small drawing of all of them messily done on the bottom, almost like a child had drawn it. Slash held out a cake littered with multicolored sprinkles and candles, and Duff stood to the side with a box of party favors. Axl wasn't sure whether to laugh hysterically or cry at that very moment. He did both.

"You're all a bunch o' idiots. My amazing fuckin' jerks!" Axl piped up after a while, laughing while trying to contain his tears of joy.

He made his way towards the group who greeted him just as nicely. Slash set down the cake and extended his arms for a hug, which Axl gladly accepted. He hid his expression behind his red locks of hair and buried his face into Slash's shoulder. Izzy clapped and cheered in the most annoying way possible, which drew a laugh from Duff the others. Axl pulled away, still visibly surprised they'd do such a thing.

"All this, guys? You didn't have to." Axl chuckled, stepping back to fully see the display once more.

Duff shrugged. "Yeah, we didn't have to. I woke up with the worst fuckin' hangover until Saul decided we'd make a surprise for you. Would've been fine with staying in bed but I guess this isn't too bad either." The bassist showed a small smile.

Steven hopped up beside Axl, to which the redhead responded by ruffling up his blond mane of hair. Izzy made his way on the other side of Axl, throwing an arm around him as he pulled him close, whispering a quiet "you owe us" into his ear. Axl made a face and nudged Izzy away.

"Thanks, really. I didn't expect this, seriously. You guys are absolute fuckin' maniacs." Axl ran a hand through his hair, marveling at the simple yet terrifyingly sweet setup made just for him.

"Mhm. Alright. Anyway, we didn't spend all this time and effort for you to be crying over this shit, so blow out your candles, alright?" Izzy chimed in afterwards, gesturing to the cake.

Axl laughed before he stepped up to the table, leaning over slightly to make contact with the cake. With no hesitation he blew out the candles, exaggeratedly blowing out air. The rest of his bandmates clapped, surrounding him. Once every candle was out, Axl felt a strong grip on the back of his head, and his face was plunged into the cake. Steven snickered and everyone else followed along laughing as Axl turned to face them, cake faced and all. Slash couldn't contain his laughter as the others completely fell apart just by taking one glance at Axl.

"Happy birthday, Rose." Saul teased, which sent the group into more hysterical laughter.

Grabbing a thick, mushy chunk of cake, Axl shot back a death stare, preparing to explode.

"Yeah, happy birthday to me, motherfucker."

**Author's Note:**

> just wanted to add that there's really no specifc ship/relationship that's heavily emphasized on this, but i leave everything to the imagination :)


End file.
